The new generation of gaming consoles came with the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X | S, but it doesn’t feel like it. If you’re a PlayStation fan, you know that it’s very rare to see a PS55 in stores, but we tend to hear about a lot of people offering new consoles for thousands of dollars.
While Sony is aware of this problem making the newest games available on PlayStation 4, it’s important to know why the newest consoles are so rare and what you can do to try to find one.
First, why are PlayStation 5′s so hard to find?
Basically, a lot of people want to buy a console, but they’re just not making enough to sell. This is because there is a global chip shortage problem, and all tech companies are dealing with this problem.
Chips are an integral part of making any electronic device, so when the COVID-19 lockdowns happened an increased need for technology to work from home appeared; however, there weren’t enough chips to make the devices (again, a lot of people want to buy, but there isn’t enough production to supply).
This problem got even worse with cars. While the production of cars increased exponentially and started offering people low-interest rates, increasing affordability, more electric cars required more chips.
It’s a cycle that, according to J.P. Morgan, will continue until the end of 2022 or at some point in 2023.
To this, you have to add an increasing group of people doing cryptocurrency mining. This means that people are buying and using computers to mine Bitcoin, Etherium, and other open-source blockchain currencies to “get money fast”. This uses graphics cards and AMD GPUS, the same ones that PlayStation 5 needs.
On top of that, resellers can buy consoles on websites with bots which then they offer on websites like eBay and StockX for $1,000. This means that regular customers have a harder time buying a PlayStation 5.
Tips to boost your chances
The best advice for all of this is that you stay patient and know that it is a long and aggravating process. Even if you follow all the tips, you can still end up empty-handed, nevertheless, here they are:
